Photography is all about lights; introduce a little light from the right angle, and you start to see something totally unexpected. I was playing with some LED lights a few days back and I thought I’d experiment with how lights interact with fruits. Since oranges are translucent and the only fruit readily available then, using them was a natural choice.

Little did I know that this would yield in some interesting shadows enhancing the pulpy texture of the fruit. A slice of orange and some twenty photos later, I got this shot. Hope you like it as much as I do!

Who doesn’t love a gummy candy? This stretchy, chewy concoction is a staple in our household and my kids are absolutely nuts about it. As hands-on parents, my wife and I prefer homemade treats whenever possible; that way, we know exactly what and how much of it is going on in the preparation.

For the past year or so, I’ve been trying to find a good candy recipe that has the right ‘gumminess’ to it; most recipes rely on store-bought flavored gelatin, which, to be honest, doesn’t ‘feel’ that good. Obviously, I took the Gummy Challenge head-on and came up with this really good (and somewhat healthy) recipe after a few failed attempts. The gummies turned out surprisingly chewy and tangy, with a good stretchy consistency. Here, I am presenting two variations of the recipe; ‘Citrus Blast’ and ‘Very Berry’. But before you proceed any further, pay heed to my words: once you pop, you can’t stop!

Tools and Utensils:

Silicone molds (easy to remove the gummies once set and no need to grease – available online or in stores)

Pour cold juice into a saucepan and add corn syrup to it; mix well till both are uniformly combined

Add gelatin to the juice and whisk it all up so that no lumps are visible

Set the mixture aside for 5 to 7 minutes to let the gelatin bloom

Put the saucepan on a medium-low flame and add the sugar to the gelatin mixture; cook for 8 to 9 mins, stirring constantly

Take the pan off the heat and mix in the oil, essence and citric acid powder

If you want to use food colors, divide the liquid into separate bowls, add a few drops of color to each bowl and mix well

Using a tablespoon or a dropper, pour in the hot mixture into silicone molds; work fast as you don’t want the liquid to start solidifying

Refrigerate the molds for 90 minutes

Remove gummies from the molds and place them on a tray

Keep the tray in an open place, covered with a thin cloth, for 36 hours (larger candies) or 8 hours (tiny candies/gummy bears) to let the sugar crystallize – this will give the gummies their stretchy texture

Keep them in a cool dry place (use a ziploc bag or an airtight container) to preserve freshness; for the gummies to really feel like the store-bought ones, consume them after 7-8 days

Consume them within 1 week

Try going insane with whatever tickles your fancy; just substitute the juice, oil, and essence to experiment with interesting combos. Do share your exploits in the comments section below so that others can try them too. Enjoy!

NOTE FOR VEGETARIANS: Try using 10 grams Agar-Agar (also known as China Grass) powder as a substitute for the gelatin. The texture of the gummies would be slightly brittle as agar coagulates differently. Alternatively, you can use vegetarian gelatin/gels available in the market. I haven’t tried china grass for this recipe but I’m sure they’d taste great. If you do try a vegetarian variant, please let me know!

When you have two kids under the age of six, solitude is a precious commodity. You spend the entire day being a friend, an enemy, a teacher, a doctor and more often than not, a referee; raising kids is no easy job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When the day is finally over and I have tucked my children in for the night, I find nothing more comforting than the pages of a book. Here’s a picture I took tonight to personify my love for the written word. Enjoy!

Dreamcatchers have a very special place in native American cultures, supposedly to filter out bad dreams and letting only the good ones pass. A dreamcatcher is traditionally made with repurposed items including willow hoops, strings, beads, feathers and other items considered sacred by the natives.

For this week’s Repurpose challenge, I couldn’t think of anything that personifies the notion better. Enjoy!

Note: originally taken from my phone, this photo was later touched up using the Prisma app.